A terminal block may comprise one or more base strips having a plurality of connector sockets and a plurality of connector modules that can be attached to the connector sockets of the base strip in one or more insertion directions, are held on the connector sockets in an inserted position, and can be released from the connector sockets in order to be removed from the base strip.
Terminal blocks of this kind are conventionally used on modular electronic devices in order to provide a connection technique for example for connecting sensors and actuators to control electronics or the like. Electronic devices of this kind are used for example in industrial facilities, e.g. assembly plants, in conjunction with what are known as field bus systems, and can be plugged onto a carrier bar in a modular manner so as to be arranged in a compact manner, for example in a workshop. For example, sensors from which sensor signals are obtained, and actuators to which control signals are emitted, are connected to the terminal block, it also being possible to additionally provide display elements for displaying system states or the like, or operating elements for inputting a control command or for controlling state variables.
On account of the complexity and variety of the requirements placed on electronic devices, in the case of assembly plants for example, electronic devices of this kind are nowadays developed and manufactured specifically for a particular use. In this case, a specific electronic device contains, in a modular electronics housing, an electronic component in the form of a circuit board that is designed on the basis of the requirements and to which a terminal block, designed in a specific manner, is attached in order to connect single electrical conductors or connectors to the electronic component. Since, in this case, the requirements placed on the terminal block are determined by the electronic component, very different terminal blocks have to be used for different electronic components. This makes the manufacture of such terminal blocks complex and manifold, and thus increases the costs thereof.
Conventionally, it has already been envisaged to provide various connection components, for example connectors or connection terminals, on one terminal block, which components are attached to a cover or the like, in order to form the terminal block. Although this somewhat simplifies the manufacture of such terminal blocks, it requires the manufacture of specific components, for example dedicated covers, in order to produce a particular terminal block.
DE 10 2011 055 920 B3 discloses a control apparatus for automatically controlling a technical facility, in which device a second module part is attached to a first module part. In this case, the first module part receives a circuit board while, for example, connections in the form of spring-type terminals can be attached to the second module part.
DE 38 84 329 T2 discloses a connecting terminal that allows the connection of a plurality of electrical cables having different cross sections.
DE 10 2008 027 399 A1 discloses a connection apparatus in which a plurality of single-pin connection terminal segments are arranged side-by-side and bonded together.
In the terminal block of the type in question here, it is possible for a plurality of connector modules for connecting for example a plurality of sensors, actuators or other elements to an electronic device, to be inserted into a base strip by means of which the terminal block can be connected to an electronic component, for example a circuit board, enclosed in an electronics housing. In the completed state, a plurality of connector modules are inserted into the base strip of the terminal block and connected by means of the base strip to an electronic component enclosed in the electronics housing.
In arrangements of this kind in which connector modules are inserted into the base strip so as to be arranged side-by-side in a row direction for example, and thus held on the base strip in a compact manner, it can be awkward to remove one or more connector modules because a user can only access the connector modules to an inadequate extent, for example. It may therefore be necessary to use special tools in order to separately remove the connector modules, which, however, increases the handling complexity.
There is therefore a need for a terminal block which is simple to handle, in particular in order to remove the connector modules from the base strip, but which at the same time ensures that the connector modules are securely held on the base strip when the connector modules are plugged in.
DE 10 2007 041 406 A1 discloses a locking device and a housing equipped with such a locking device for receiving a plug-in module. The locking device comprises an actuation device for unlocking the plug-in module. A lifting device is connected to the actuation device in order to lift a plug-in module received in the housing while unlocking said module.